21 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:I haven't looked at this thread at all until today because I have become enlightened about Parmesan cheese aging.
I was reading the "larder" portion of The Del Posto cookbook about the different ages of Parmesan........NOW I understand.......a couple of years ago we were in Oregon or perhaps it was Washington state and had a wonderful dinner at a small family run Italian restaurant. Everything we had was exception including the grated Parmesan they served. I just could not get over how good it was, like no other Parmesan I had ever had.....I put it down to how fresh and moist it was. But now I think I was served an aged Parmesan.
So, if you don't already know this there are four ages with different names, from Del Posto:
Giovane is a minimum of 12 months
Vecchio is more than 24 months
Stravecchio is minimum of 36 months
Stravecchione is extra mature at least 48 months
I am going to try and track some of these ages down but I'm not that hopeful seeing we live in the sticks :=((Has anyone experience with these ages?
I have. Trader Joe's sells both the Vecchio and the Stravecchio. I prefer the latter.
And I've tried them all while in Italy, but my preferences depended on the type of milk/cow (red cow), season, rather than just the age of the cheese.
Here is a good article explaining the differences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/26/dining/to-every-parmigiano-a-season.html
